Great Lakes selling units to Old Kent.

Great Lakes Selling Units to Old Kent

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Great Lakes Bancorp said it has signed a letter of intent to sell its five branches in the Lansing area to OLd Kent Bank, the principal subsidiary of Old Kent Financial Corp. of Grand Rapids.

The transaction involves $64 million of deposits. The sale price was not disclosed. Great Lakes said it would use the proceeds to boost capital.

Branch Going to NBD

Great Lakes also announced a letter of intent to sell its Muskegon branch to NBD Bank, the main subsidiary of Detroit-based NBD Bancorp, and its Clare branch of Firstbank, a subsidiary of Firstbank Corp. of Alma, Mich.

And in still another deal, Great Lakes said it will sell its Greenville, Mich., office to Commercial National Financial Corp. of Ithaca.

Great Lakes, a thrift company with $3.4 billion in assets, has most of its business concentrated in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, and Saginaw. It recently received regulatory approval to sell branches in Indianapolis as well.

"Divesting ourselves of smaller, out-state branches lets us concentrate on areas where our market share helps us operate more efficiently," said Robert J. Delonis, president and chief operating officer.

"The immediate effect, moreover, is to strengthen capital ratios at a time when regulators are planning further increase in the minimum requirements."

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